London - The British Foreign Secretary, Mr Robin Cook, accused the opposition leader, Mr William Hague, of legitimising racism by warning of the "flood" of bogus asylum-seekers, newspapers reported yesterday.
"When William Hague talks of Britain being threatened by a flood of asylum-seekers, he is exploiting fear," the Guardian quoted Mr Cook as saying in a weekend address to his constituency in Scotland.
Mr Cook also singled out for criticism the Conservative health spokesman, Dr Liam Fox, who said last month that the poor English of many doctors who had qualified overseas and were now working in Britain amounted to a "public danger".